“So this is the Cabal,” I said. “This was what they were working on during the Cold War days.”
“Definitely the same agenda,” said Church, “and some of the same players.”
“The difference,” Hu said, “is now they can actually do this stuff. They’ve cracked the process for turning genetic diseases into communicable pathogens.”
“And the Extinction Wave is going to be a coordinated release of these pathogens?” I asked.
“Yes,” said Church.
“How the hell do we stop them?”
“That’s what you’re going to find out for us when you raid the Deck. We have a glimmer of hope-”
“Not much of a glimmer,” Hu cut in, but Church ignored him.
“-in that we found several matching lists of the countries and regions where the pathogens will be released.”
“That’s great! We can warn-”
“I’ve also been on the phone with the State Department. Embassies in each country have already been put on standby. There’s an issue of delicacy here,” Church said. “We have to keep our awareness of this under the radar until we’ve taken down the Deck and the people responsible. We can’t risk a leak that might lead to this new Cabal going dark and starting up again at a later date and in new locations.”
I nodded.
“From everything we’ve read,” Hu said, “there’s a specific release code that needs to be sent out. Your dancing partner, Carteret, said that the release code was programmed into a trigger device that is always kept by either Otto Wirths or Cyrus Jakoby. He said he thinks it’s a small device about the size of a flash drive but with a six-digit keypad on it.”
“He didn’t say any of that to me,” I said.
Church adjusted his glasses. “He told me,” he said. “He was quite willing to unburden his soul.”
“What did you do to him?”
Church ate a cookie and didn’t answer.
Hu said, “So we have to get to Wirths or Jakoby and get that trigger device before the code is sent to agents around the world who would then release the pathogens.”
“Only that? Swell, I’ll see if I can work it into my day,” I said sourly. I reached over and took a cookie from Church’s plate. “We’re going to have to go in quietly. Otherwise, they’ll just trigger the device at the first sign of an invasion. Quiet infils take time to set up, and I can hear that frigging clock ticking.”
“I have an idea about that,” said Hu. “This trigger device probably is a flash drive. A device of the kind Carteret described isn’t big enough to have a satellite uplink. It probably doesn’t have any kind of transmitter. I asked Bug about this. He agrees that the trigger device probably needs to be plugged into a USB port and then the code sent out via the Internet. It’s the smartest way to do it, and it would allow for individual codes for each launch.”
“Okay, so what’s the plan?”
“An EMP,” he said. “Right before you rush the place, or maybe after you’re inside, but before you start going all Jack Bauer on everyone, we pop an E-bomb on them.”
“What the hell’s that?”
“An electromagnetic bomb,” he said. “Very cool stuff. It’s a bomb that creates an electromagnetic pulse. It won’t kill people, but the EMP fries anything electrical and should wipe out their computer systems. Unless they’re ruggedized… but that’s a risk.”
“We have this stuff?”
“The Navy was playing with them during the first Gulf War,” said Church. “And we used one to take out Iraqi TV during the 2003 invasion. If we can locate the deck I can arrange to have an E-bomb dropped.”
“Friend in the industry?” I asked.
“Friend in the industry,” he agreed.
“Then that’s our edge,” I said. I stood up and reached across the table to Hu. “Nice work, Doc.”
He looked at my hand as if I was offering to beat him to death with it. After a few seconds’ hesitation he took my hand and shook it.
“What about the Jakoby family?” I asked. “The Twins. SAM said that they were involved. He told me that they were the ones who genetically engineered the unicorn for the hunt and they treat Cyrus as if he’s their prisoner rather than their father. SAM doesn’t know them that well, but he said that they have a lab somewhere and that Cyrus has been trying to find it for years. The Twins call their lab the Dragon Factory.”
“Wonder if they’ve engineered a dragon?” Hu mused.
“There was nothing in the recovered records that gives any indication of the location of the Dragon Factory,” Church said. “And MindReader has not been able to pin down a recent location for either Paris or Hecate Jakoby. They were last seen at an art show in London a week ago. We have nine of their known residences under surveillance by police in four countries. At this moment, beyond providing animals for the hunts we don’t know the scale or depth of their involvement. We’re poised to seize all of their known holdings and assets, however, but that move won’t be made until we’re sure it won’t interfere with our attempts to find that trigger device.”
“And their dad?”
“There are no photos of Cyrus Jakoby anywhere. No personal details of any kind other than when the Twins mentioned him in passing during press interviews. If he’s being kept as a prisoner, then it might explain why he’s so conspicuously off the radar. There was a sensational news story about the birth of the Twins, but none of the papers carried photos of the father.”
“Sounds like he doesn’t want his face publicly known,” I said. “That squares with the assumption that ‘Jakoby’ is not his real name. Could be anything from a drug lord on the lam to someone in witness protection.”
“It covers too much ground for easy speculation. Bottom line is that we don’t know who he is, and it is remarkable that MindReader cannot dig up a single piece of verification on him.”
“If he’s tied to the Cabal, could someone have used that old system-”
“Pangaea,” he supplied.
“-to erase records of him?”
“Yes. And considering the connections to the Cabal that already exist in this case I think that’s what has happened.”
“How about Otto Wirths?”
“Same thing. Nothing. The names are probably aliases. However, there is another possible tie to the death camps. Eduard Wirths, the senior medical officer at Auschwitz, was nicknamed ‘Otto’ as a child. Some of his close adult friends still called him that, though in all the official records he went by Eduard.”
“So, you’re thinking that Otto is what? Son, grandson? Named after Eduard’s nickname?”
“It’s worth considering.”
Hu said, “Or he could be a clone of Eduard Wirths. Hey, don’t look at me like that, Ledger. If we’re playing with clones, then we have to factor them into all of this. And it’s been thought of before. You know, The Boys from Brazil. Ira Levin book. Movie with Gregory Peck-”
“They were cloning Hitler.”
“Why not? Maybe someone’s cloning the whole upper echelon of the Nazi Party. Or a whole army of Hitlers!”
“Don’t even joke,” I said.
“Okay, but if we run into an army of short guys with toothbrush mustaches and undescended testicles don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I shook my head and turned to Church. “How’s the Kid?”
Church did not answer right away. “We’re doing some additional testing.”
“I want him to go with me when we raid the Deck.”
“Why?”
“He used to live there. We don’t have time to learn the layout and intricacies on our own. I don’t like taking a kid into a combat situation, God knows, but we’re short on advantages.”